Returning an extirpated native carnivore to its former range: a habitat suitability analysis of Kangaroo Island for spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus)
Mia Retallack, Bertram Ostendorf, Bronwyn Fancourt, David Peacock · 2026
Read Returning an extirpated native carnivore to its former range: a habitat suitability analysis of Kangaroo Island for spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus) by Mia Retallack, Bertram Ostendorf, Bronwyn Fancourt, David Peacock (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13578372.txt.
Description
Mia Retallack and three co-authors asked whether Kangaroo Island can host a lost native hunter again, in a study published in 2026. The spotted-tailed quoll, a cat-sized marsupial hunter, died out there after 1837. Its range has shrunk by nearly a third since Europeans arrived. A feral cat removal program on the island, if it works, leaves the seat of the hunter empty.
More than half of the bush on the island was cleared in the last century, so suitability was in doubt. Two model types mapped the ground. Rain, heat, and soil composition drove the suitability grade most. More than half the island held den-rich ground. The cape and the west ran best. The authors name those as first release zones, if the cats go.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mia Retallack, Bertram Ostendorf, Bronwyn Fancourt, David Peacock |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 52 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |